1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a rotary engine with planetary rotating members. More particularly, this invention pertains to an internal combustion engine with multivaned rotating members orbiting about a rotor in a chamber housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotary motors in the prior art fall into two categories: those that are driven by steam and those that are internal combustion engines. Steam driven rotary motors typically include an expansion chamber that applies force to a member, causing a rotor to rotate. Examples of such steam driven rotary motors include U.S. Pat. No. 949,605, titled “Rotary Motor,” issued on Feb. 15, 1910, to W. Taylor; U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,086, titled “Rotary Steam Engine,” issued on Feb. 11, 1975, to C. Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,290, titled “Rotary Expander,” issued on Aug. 13, 1991, to A. Nardi; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,072, titled “Pressure articulated positive displacement, single expansion rotary engine,” issued on Jan. 7, 2003, to Nardi.
Through the years, attempts at developing a rotary internal combustion engine have been made. The most successful of these attempts is exemplified by the Wankel engine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,816, titled “Rotary Piston Engine,” issued on May 22, 1990, to Kita, et al. The conventional Wankel engine includes a rotor housing having an inner wall of trochoidal configuration, a triangular rotor disposed in a rotor cavity of the rotor housing for rotation with its apex portions in sliding contact with the inner wall of the rotor housing, and an eccentric shaft supporting the rotor.
An early example of a different type of internal combustion rotary engine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,454,006, titled “Internal-Combustion Rotary Engine,” issued on Nov. 16, 1948, to C. E. Plummer. This patent discloses an engine with a cylindrical casing 10 with two abutments 17, 18 protruding into the annular chamber 14 formed by the casing 10 and the rotor 13. The annular chamber 14 is divided into a power, firing and exhaust zone 15 and a compression and intake zone 16 that are diametrically opposite each other. The rotor 13 has two spider type bladed rotatable vanes 23 that rotate when engaging the abutments 17, 18. Attached to the casing 10 is a housing 28 carrying a rotatable combined firing and compression cylinder 29. Diametrically opposite the housing 28 on the casing 10 are the intake and exhaust leads 21, 22, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,522, titled “Rotary Internal Combustion Engine,” issued on Feb. 11, 1975, to A. Nardi. This patent discloses an engine with a cylindrical casing 10 having a disc-shaped central inner cavity 12 with eight radial recesses or notches 14 formed in the casing 10. A main disc or rotor 16 is sized to fit into the inner cavity 12. The rotor 16 has partial circular cavities 20, 22 formed diametrically opposite each other. The partial circular cavities 20, 22 receive lever wheels 26, 28 that rotate within the partial circular cavities 20, 22. The lever wheels 26, 28 each have three equally spaced radial arms 30 that engage the notches 14 as the rotor 16 rotates within the casing 10. The fuel intake system includes ducts 34 formed through the casing 10 adjacent the notches 14. Exhaust ports 38 are formed through the body of the rotor 16 and communicate with an exhaust manifold 40 vented to the outside of the casing 10. U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,374, titled “Air-Cooled Rotary Internal Combustion Engine,” issued on Jun. 23, 1981, to C. Lee, is an improvement on the Lee patent described above. The improvement involved adding air-cooling to the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,920, titled “Rotary Internal Combustion Engine, Fluid Motor and Fluid Pump Having Planetating Gear Pistons,” issued on Nov. 13, 1984, to Carr, et al., discloses an intake rotor 420 surrounded by three secondary rotors 440, all nested within reactor lobe assembly 640. The valve plates 330, 230, 240 and the front case cover 150 each mount forward of reactor lobe assembly 640 with shaft 430 of exhaust/intake rotor 420 being journalled within the central hole of rotating valve plate 330, stationary exhaust valve plate 240 and front case cover 150. Reactor lobe assembly 640 has nine internal reactor lobes 460 with spark plug access holes 195 extending through the lobes 460. Also mounted within the reactor lobe assembly 640 is a pressure seal 550 and spring 650 assembly which is placed between each reactor lobe 460.
German Patent Application DE 42 42 966, dated Dec. 18, 1992, discloses a rotary engine. A housing 13 encloses a cylindrically shaped rotor 2, which has four niches 4 in the circumferential surface 3. The niches 4 receive pistons 5 that have a star-like shape with three lips 7 spaced about the center of rotation 6 of the pistons 5. The inner surface 8 of the housing 13 has a wave-shape with troughs 18 and peaks 20. Each of the four peaks 20 have a spark plug 14 flanked on the leading side by a exhaust valve 16 and on the trailing side by an intake valve 15.
The pistons 5 rotate clockwise as they orbit the center 1 of the rotor 2, which rotates counterclockwise and carries the pistons 5. One or more of the lips 7 of each piston 5 continuously keeps in contact with the inner surface 8 of the housing 13 as the rotor 2 rotates within the housing 13. The German Patent Application does not disclose or teach the mechanism by which the pistons 5 rotate as they orbit the center 1 of the rotor 2.
FIGS. 1 and 3–9 of the German application illustrate the pistons 5 moving toward the exhaust valves 16, which indicates that the engine uses a decreasing volume to push the exhaust out of the exhaust valve 16. Likewise, FIGS. 2 and 3–9 illustrate the pistons 5 moving away from the intake valves 15, which indicates that intake air is sucked into the engine by increasing the volume of the chamber, thereby drawing the intake air into the engine.
The operation of the German engine is illustrated in FIGS. 4–9 with FIGS. 4 & 5 showing the engine beginning to rotate. FIGS. 4–9 use Roman numerals to indicate the rotor 2 position as it rotates in the housing 13. The pistons 5 operate in tandem, that is, opposing pistons 5, 5″ at positions I, III draw intake air-fuel through valves 15′, 15′″ and exhaust combustion gas through valves 16, 16″. See FIG. 6. At the same time, the other two pistons 5′, 5′″ at positions II, IV undergo combustion 25′, 25′″ on one side and compression 24′, 24′″ on the other side. See FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows the positions have rotated 90° with the positions rotated counterclockwise, but the pistons 5 at those positions performing the same operations. That is, the piston 5, 5″ at positions I, III are always performing intake and exhaust. See FIGS. 6–9. Likewise, the piston 5′, 5′″ at positions II, IV are always undergoing compression and combustion.